Succumb to Destiny
by ShadowSage2
Summary: Raven's destiny begins to threaten her life and the lives of her friends. How can she fight against her seemingly unescapable situation? Even the other Titans may provide no help...first TT fic, R&R please! :) Rating subject to change.


A/N: Hey, y'all. This is my first fic here in the TT part of so I'm hoping all goes well. This storyline is working off of the episode Birthmark, so if you haven't seen it...well, you might have troubles. Please, if you read, review. I'll take anything at this point, really, especially pointers and such. I look forward to your reviews. And now, to the disclaimer... pokes Kratos You. Do it.

Kratos: I don't even have anything to do with these people! Make one of them do it!

SS2: No, I like you better.

Robin: Even me?

SS2: Even you. Now...gives Kratos the Glare of Doom

Kratos: OO rapidly Teen Titansisn't hers, so leave her alone so she can leave ME alone!

:) Enjoy...I hope.

Succumb to Destiny

Bloody skies raining fire.

Stony flesh frozen in eternal silent screams.

Inhuman laughter that could freeze over the hottest fires of hell itself.

Death. Destruction. …Ecstasy? No. Impossible. There is no joy in such gruesome ruin…

"Ah, but there is for a child of darkness." Grated an invisible voice. "See what you shall create. Feel your blood boil with the fire of your power!"

No…I won't…I'm nothing like you…You can't make me.

"You deny your own parentage? Foolish fledging! There is no escape from that which you are."

Pain wracked her body in white-hot waves. She could feel the Satanic runes on her body come to life. Evil, hysteric laughter rang in the young mage's ears, the horrible frequency only adding to the pain resonating through her small frame.

Three rooms away, Robin bolted awake. After the initial shock, he rested his head in his right hand with the arm propped against the desk he had fallen asleep at, covered with the countless newspapers and crime files he had been pouring over all that afternoon and into the nighttime. Cold, mocking laughter echoed in the back of his subconscious, a lingering shadow of his nightmare. He briefly wondered what could have brought on such a strange dream before his thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream. Thoughtlessly, he was off like a shot down the hall. Once he turned the corner to Raven's room, he found Beast Boy already there, hammering on the door. He looked at Robin, fear gleaming in his eyes.

"It's locked, or…something…" The changeling's eyes darted to Raven's door engulfed in her trademark black magical energy.

"No problem." Cyborg appeared behind Beast Boy's shoulder, along with Starfire. "Stand back," he commanded as he bent forward in preparation to run down the door.

"Wait…what about Raven's magic?" Starfire interjected. "If she has lost control, we will not know what her power could do to us…"

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about that, Star. What if Raven hurts herself?"

Starfire didn't answer, but bit her bottom lip nervously and glided backwards to give Cyborg more space. The mechanical teen nodded and threw himself at the door with all of his inhuman strength. His gigantic titanium fist collided into the door, and the black energy dissipated as if answering his command. With nothing else to reinforce it, the door crumpled at the impact like tinfoil. The other three Titans followed Cyborg through the threshold before the door could even hit the floor, weapons, starbolts and claws flashing in the moonlight streaming in through the windows on the other side of the room.

However, they found nothing. No enemy or even a sign of any kind of struggle marred Raven's eerie abode. Only Raven lying in her bed, tossing restlessly and crying out meekly, tearing the other four comrades' hearts asunder. Beast Boy, being naturally curious without considering consequences, moved forward.

"Raven? Whassup?"

"Stop…you can't make me, I won't…" She cried out again, obviously in some sort of pain, whether imagined or real, it was impossible to tell. A statue near Starfire was enveloped in black flame and exploded. She stifled a surprised yelp with her hands, afraid to cause any further disturbance that could harm anything or any**_one_** else. Cyborg watched the pieces fall to the floor, joining the other shattered artifacts that had fallen victim to her tortured subconscious.

"Dude…what kind of dream can do that to someone?" Beast Boy looked back at his friend's faces, all of which were pale; Robin's the most. He walked right up beside Raven's bed.

"The kind Slade leaves behind," The Boy Wonder replied softly. Reacting entirely on instinct, he closed his eyes and reached into the back of his mind for the mental link that joined him and Raven. He reached out and touched Raven's arm meaning to wake her up, his mind trained on the link, hoping it would help to rouse her from the hell her subconscious had created.

As soon as his hand touched Raven's shoulder, he was thrown forward through a psychedelically colored tunnel and suddenly found himself somewhere in an abyss, being assaulted by images of fire and death. The laughter that had been echoing in his head when he had woken up earlier now returned in full force. He tried to cover his ears from the horrendous sound, but found he couldn't move, and he felt like he was slowly being suffocated by the pressing weight of the images from Raven's nightmare. Whatever had happened, this certainly wasn't what he had meant to do…

Having no idea where he was or even what he had done to get there, fear crept around the edges of his mind, a predator waiting for the opportune moment to totally engulf him in the cold flames of terror. The images abruptly disappeared and were replaced by four red, cruel slanted eyes that burned through his very soul. The eyes narrowed, and Robin found himself being slowly engulfed in black energy. The psychotic laughter continued to mock him as he vainly attempted to free himself. The aura reached his torso and showed so sign of relenting. Abandoning all cognitive thought, panic began to take over and he cried out in terror, the freezing cold constraint numbing his brain. Vaguely, he could hear the evil, disembodied voice cut through the fog of his fear.

"You can try to escape here, but you cannot run from my power, no matter where you go."

As the veil closed over the young hero's head, he could do nothing but stare in utter terror and feel the chill of the aura sink into his flesh. For a moment, darkness unlike anything he had ever known held him before blinding white light rushed at him in a cacophony of sound.


End file.
